November 15, 2012

Metropolitan Tikhon Begins His New Work

This will be another very short entry. It’s after 6:00am and the shuttle bus arrives at 6:30 am to take Father Eric, Melanie Ringa, my wife Denise and me to the airport.

Yesterday the Holy Synod met after breakfast for a closed session presided over for the first time by our new primate, Metropolitan Tikhon. After about an hour the officers joined the bishops for discussion on various matters related to scheduling and the transition. Metropolitan Tikhon will be in the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania today to prepare the diocese for the big change, tomorrow he will be at the Chancery in Syosset, and then on the weekend he will go to his new cathedral, Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Washington DC (I will join him there). After the regular Synod meeting, a few members of the Metropolitan Council’s work group looking at the division of labor between dioceses and central church administration met briefly with the bishops to outline next steps, including a survey of bishops and clergy. By then it was time for most people, including the bishops, to check out of their rooms and go to the airport, and the meeting ended around 1:00 pm.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland

With a rare free afternoon on our hands Father Eric suggested we do something completely different and go to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So Bishop Mark, Father Eric, Melanie, my wife and I spent a wonderful few hours listening to music and getting acquainted, or reacquainted as the case may be, with rock music and culture. I have to say that my tastes always ran to the more mellow, like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel. But the words and music that for me seemed to fit these past days best, was Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

About the Author

Fr. John is Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America. He has a PhD in New Testament (University of Thessaloniki), MDiv and DMin degrees from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and a long record of pastoral service, university teaching and academic writing.

View by Year

Authors

Topics

Search Reflections

Search:

The Orthodox Church in America

The Mission of The Orthodox Church in America, the local autocephalous Orthodox Christian Church, is to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”